Headlight-dipping mechanism



June 28, 7-

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 39. 1925 June 28, 1927. 1,634,044

G. PIERCE HEADLIGHT DIPPING MECHANISM Filed May 29, 1925 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'rlllll 7 IIIII 5 Hillllll U l 'lli Patented June 28, 1927.

UNITED STATES GEORGE PIERCE, or MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

HEADLIGHT-DIPPING MEoHAnIsM.

Application filed May 29, 1925.

The invention relates to head light dipping mechanism, as described in the present specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings that form part of the same.

The invention consists essentially of the novel features of construction pointed out broadly and specifically in the claims for novelty following a description containing an explanation in detail of an acceptable form of the invention.

The objects of the invention are to afford comfort and safety to motorists in travelling by night, whereby the glare can readily be eliminated without affecting the usefulness of the lights; to firmly support the lamps notwithstanding their change in position and thus effect rigidity in the construction at all times; to insure lowcosts of construction and thereby bring profit to the manufacturers, as well as bring this device within the reach of all motor car owners, in order that the use may become general and by this means avoid many of the deplorable accidents resulting from confusion due to the blinding glare; and to provide a reliable and eflicient mechanism economical in regard to production and maintenance and easy to operate.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the mechanism.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the cam plate and spindle. v

Figure 3 is a detail of the cam plate.

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail of a locking bolt.

Figure 5 is a sectional detail of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is an elevation of the inner locking ring and annular channel. Y

Figure 7 is a detail of the open end of the inner surface in lamp mounting locking ring.

Figure 8 is a sectional detail of the inner locking ring.

Figure 9 is detail showing the closed end of the inner locking ring.

Figure 10 is a sectional detail through the spindle operating gear.

Figure 11 is a detail of the outer locking ring and return spring.

Figure 12 is a detail of the housing for the locking mechanism.

Figure 13 is a side elevation of the mechanism complete as applied to a vehicle.

Figure 14 is an enlarged assembled view of the locking mechanism,

Serial No. 33,779.

Figure 15 is an enlarged sectional view of the locking mechanism.

Fig. 16 is a detail of the bearing rod joint.

mounting 21 adjacent to the lamp bracket and forms an annular channel surface 27 bet veen said flanges, said ring and mounting being slotted at 28, said slot 28 having radial end walls registering with a longer slot 29 in the tubular aligning bearing 20.

The pin 30 having the forked end 31 to form the pivot bearing 32, is inserted hrough the slots 28 and 29 and is screwed into the spindle 33 extending into the tubular aligning bearing 20 at one end and forming part of the locking mechanism.

The pivot bearing necting rod 34 and this connecting rod34 is pivotally secured to the toggle joint 35, one of the toggles of said joint forming part of the operating lever 36, and another extending loosely into the lower end of the dash bracket 37 at the upper end of which said lever 36 is pivoted.

The spring 38 encircles the lower togglebetween the bracket 37 and the joint end of said toggle, and this spring maintains the connecting rod 34 in tension and in compression as the case may be.

The spindle 33 of the locking mechanism carries the cam plate 39 which is secured to said spindle by the lug 40 from said plate, projecting through the slot 41 in tubular self aligning bearing 20 and bushing 42.

The cam plate 39 is formed with the cam slots 48, 44 and 45,the slot- 44 having rising surface both ways from the centre and corresponding to the intermediate position ,of'

the head lights, and the slot 43 having its rising surface towards the extreme end and corresponding to the upright position of the head lights and the slot 45 having an exring 25. is formed with the. annular flanges 26 and encircles the lamp 32 is secured to the con-1 llll tendedrising surface from one end and corresponding to the low position of the head lights.

The cam plate 39 is contained within the locking ring 46, and this ring 456 is secured on the hub l? which is sweated on the rotatable lamp mounting 21, or secured by a clamp.

The twin lugs 3L8 extend from the side wall of the ring 46 and form a bearing "for a return spring 49. The spring ball 50 projects outwardly from the wall diametrically opp twin lugs 48 and operates as expl'ained' hereinafter.

The locki'i'ig bolts 51, 52 and operate respectively in the bolt holes a l, 55 and 56, through the ring 46. These holes and bolts represent the high, intermediate, and low position ot the lamps.

The bolts 51, 52am 53, are each slottec 57 to form a fork to engage the cam plate over the slots 43, 44 and 45, and the screws 58 secure said locking bolts in said slots and these term the bearings on the rising surface of the cam slots to return the bolts to their inner position attcr being shot into their locking positions.

The outer locking ring 59 is rigidly secured to the bracket 22 and is formed with the bolt holes 60, 61 and 62, for the high, intermediate and low positions respe tively, ot the head lights, and within said 1mg return spring "19 having curled ends on the twin lugs (33, thereby forming a. strong hold as said spring is brought into tension at the lowering ot the head lights. I

The bevelled lug 64: projects from the wall of the locking ring 59 inwardly outside of the spring 4-9 in the path of the spring ball 50, so that when said light is in the upper position said spring ball is spring contact with this lug on the flat surface there t, and to move the head lights to the intermediate position this spring ball slides of? the lug which then forms a stop surface and together with the lever spring 38 rotates the cam plate 89 into position to shoot the bolt 52 into the bolt hole 61 of the outer locking ring and thereby form a rigid locking (3 1lnection between the locking ring do rigid with the tubular bearing and rotatable n'iounting oi? the head lights and the rigid bracket 22 bolted to the frame of the vehicle.

The housing 65 encloses the outer locking ring 59 and is held thereto by the screws 66. The housing 65 is formed with the arc slot 67 which forms a limiting slot in the turning of the inner locking ring 46, as the screw 68 is inserted to stop the inner locking ring as and projects through said slot. I Y

The c1" 10s 'spring69 is introduced into the chaI-iiie'l surface 27 against the stop 70, thelattei being formed of a headless screw screwed into the bed of the channel the pin 3O operating against the pressure of the spring 69 to bring the pin back to a definite position.

The cover 'Fl closes in the channel surface 27 and this cover moves with the pin 30 which maintains the said cover in place as a dust protector at the same time the brake shoe 72 i s'secured to said cover, and rubs the channel surface 27 merely as a retarding member and it is quite possible that in many cases this retarding shoe will not be required.

In the operation or' this device the parts are assembled as described, so as to form an enclosed casing in the line of shatting carrying the lamps, this casing being dust tight, and occupying but little space and therefore in no way damaging the appearance of the motor vehicle. I

Thetwo locking rings, that is to say, the inner locking ring, securely and very rigidly mounted on the tubular rotating member carrying the lan'ips and the outer locking ring rigidly secured to the aligning hearing and bracket, "form together a chamber as the inner ring telescopes into the outer ring, both of these rings extending tronr end walls, and this chamber, that is to say the rings are flangedinwardly to their mountthus completely closing in the said cl'iamber.

The inner ring as explained in the description of the details rotates and the outer ring has the housing permanently secured thereto, and remains stationary therewith, therefore sofar as the eye is concerned there is a con'mlete stationary casing, in which the inner i. turns for a part of a revolution.

The lever 36 and its connecting rod to the crank pin. extending through the slots in the flanged ring, the tubular lamp mounting and the tubular aligning bearing is indissociably connected with the operation of the inner locking ring as it entirely depends on the position of this lever for the shooting of the bolts and this is particularly noticeable in selecting the intermediate position, that is to say, six degrees off the vertical.

will be noticed that the slots in the flanged ring and the lamp mounting extend inwardly in a radial direction from either end to the slot int-he tubular self aligning bearing, but the latter is the longer slot, in order that the crank pin may engage the radial wall at either of the mounting slot to move said mounting one way or the other as the case may be, for the said longer slot provides the pathway for the pins movements.

The mounting slot is of sufficient length to permit the operation of the locking mechanism, in fact it is somewhat overlength, in order to accommodat the particular movements in connection with the actuation of Fill lit)

"all

the parts of the said mechanism. Therefore the cushion spring in said flanged ring is introduced to maintain the said crank pin substantially in mid position in the said mounting slot.

The control in the dipping of the lamps is naturally entirely from the lever pivotally mounted on the dash bracket of the car, and this lever is connected through its toggle mechanism with the connecting rod to the crank pin and except in its mid position the said connection is in tension or compression according to the positions of the lamp. Therefore presuming the lamp to be in its vertical position and locked to the bolt in the outer locking ring,,the first movement of the lever before the crank pin comes to the end of the lamp mounting slot turns the cam plate, and this draws the bolt from its engagement in the outer locking ring by the contact of the bolt pin with the rising surface in the cam slot.

Coincidently with the drawing of this bolt, the bolt pin of the intermediate bolt moves to a high surface in its particular cam slot. so that it cannot shoot to place iu'nnediately when its particular hole in the outer locking ring comes in register therewith. Thus the continued movement of the lever will carry the locking mechanism without interruption on to the low position and as the bolt locking pin of the low position bolt has already been in high position, in its cam slot, the continued movement to the limit moves said pin to low position in its cam slot with the result that as soon as the low position bolt reaches its hole in the outer locking ring it shoots thereinto. I

The return movement is precisely the same for the slot in the tubular mounting provides the necessary play for the crank pin to rotate the cam plate first before the rotation of the mounting begins. Therefore previous to any movement of the tubular mem bers the bolt pin rises in the cam slot and withdraws the low position bolt to permit the rotation of the lamp mounting and coincidently pass the bolt pin of the intermediate bolt on to the rise of the intermedirt a' s ot on the opposite side thereby holding the intermediate bolt to its with drawn position while passing the intermediate bolt hole in the outer ring.

The six degree clip from the vertical is however the one that is likely to be the most used and consequently it is essential that it should be done in a positive and simple manner with perfect security that the bolt will be shot on every occasion. Therefore on the movement of the lever for the second position, the spring ball which has been in engagement with the fiat surface of the bevelled lug moves off said lug and abuts the bevelled. surface thereof at the far edge.

Meanwhile the connecting rod to the operating lever is still in tension, therefore the tendency is to pull back on the crank pin which has been moved forward and this reverses the rotation of the cam plate from the position it has reached in its forward movement and thus brings the cam slot into a mid position in relation to the bolt pin of the intermediate bolt. This mid position the same bevel and the connecting rod is in' a state of tension, in fact every movement is quite the same and the main object is reached by bringing the bolt pin of the intermediate bolt in mid position in its cam slot.

The through operation and'the way operation have now been fully described and it will be seen that all the contingencies have been provided for, and nothing is left to the judgment of the driver for the lock mechanism at the touch of the lever rights itself to the several positionseand once the bolt has been shot the rigidity of the lamps is just the same as if mounted on a rod permanently secured to the brackets and frame.

The spring hall may be adjusted so far as the pressure in the bevelledfiat lug is concerned by regulating the compression of the spring therebehind.

Another feature of this invention is the means employed for facilitating the installation of the device and this is done at the opposite end of the self aligning bearing 20, which there terminates in a ball 73. The supporting bracket 74: secured to the vehicle frame is in this case a plate 7 with a ball projection 76. The clamping plates 77 and 78 formed as double ball sockets 7 9 and 80 have the mid plate portions 81 and 82 through which the bolt 83 extends to be fastened, by the nut 84 suitably locked, therefore by inserting the ball 76 in the socket 80 and the ball 73 in the socket 79 and tightening the plates together by the bolt 83 drawn by the nut 84, the joint is made and after the proper adjustment is secured, it can be finished as rigidly as the lamps themselves on their own mounting.

It is obvious that the ball 73 may be made the means of adjusting the length of the self aligning tube by having a stem to it, this stem being finally secured by rivets at the lock end of the self aligning bearing.

It has been mentioned that the outer locking ring 59 is closed in at its outer edge by an inwardly extending flange to the tube 20, this inwardly extending flange indicated by the numeral 85, joins a hub 86, which encircles the end of the self aligning bearing tube 20 and is encircled by the clamp 87 forming partof the bracket 22.

The clamp 87 securely holds the tube 20 through the bushing 4-2, the latter extending through said hub 86 within the clamp 87, so thatthe three parts, namely the clamp 87, the rub 86, and the bushing 42 may be permanently and rigidly secured together by the pin 88, as it is not required that these parts should be removed for any cause other than the taking down of the whole machine.

What I claim is 1. In a headlight dipping mechanisn'i, a tubular lamp mounting having a cross slot, bearing brackets adapted to be secured to the vehicle frame, a tube having a cross slot and rigidly secured to said brackets and forming a bearing member for said mount ing, a crank shatft inserted in said bearing member and having its crank member projecting through said slots, a lock mechanism secured to said mounting and said bearing n emher respectively and fixedly securing them in three selective positions in relation to one another, and an operating lever mechanism for selecting a first, second or third position and secured to said crank member.

2. In headlight dipping mechanism, a stationary tubular bearing having a transverse slot, a lamp mounting in tubular form and mounted on said bearing and having a shorter transverse slot, a rotary member in said bearing having a crank pin therefrom projecting through said slots, a lever operatively connected to said crank pin and a lock mechanism having a spring bolt radially sliding in a lock part secured to said lamp mounting, a bolt hole member secured to the bearing support and a cam member rotated independently of said rotating lock part to withdraw the bolt previous to the shooting of a bolt.

3. In headlight dipping mechanism, tubular lamp mounting and bearing mei'nbers transversely slotted, a lock mechanism having inner and outer casings forming a lock chamber containing a cam plate with cam slots and spring bolts secured to said cam plateby pins extending through bolt lugs and through said cam slots, a rotary spindle within said bearing member having a lug secured thereto and to said cam plate and a crank pin therefrom extending through the transverse slots of said tubular members and a lever operatively connected to said crank pin.

4-. In headlight dipping mechanism, a locking mechanism formed of inner and outer casings connected by a return spring and containing a bolt carrying member havessee;

i ng car-n slots and rotatable independently of the innerloc-k casing and radially opratiug spring bolts carried thereby, means 1' rotating said bolt arrier and said outer sing following the initial operation of the "olt carrier, and means for creating a pause n tl one of said bolts;

In headlight dipping mechanism, a locking mechanism having inner and outer casings adapted to lock the li hts to upright in erniediate and low positiol s and connected by a return spring and havin a spring ball in one part meeting a bevelled lug in the other in rotation forming a pause and aligner for the shooting of the intermediate bolt and a lever operatively connected with the bolt carrier of said lock mechanism and with the rotatable inner casing and acting und r spring influence continuously in'co action with the aforesaid bevelled lug and spring ball.

6. In headlight dipping mechanism, a locking mechanism having 'a rotating inner casing and sliding bolts mounted therein for high, intermediate and low lamp positions, an outer casing having high, intermediate and low bolt holes suitably spaced, a bolt carrier within said inner casing having cam slots shaped to withdraw the bolts, spring pressing outwardly on said bolts, a return spring connecting said casings, a crank mechanism operating said bolt car rier and said inner casing, a lever constantly under spring influence and connected to said crank mechanism, a lamp mount ing carrying the said inner casing and slotted for the crank and a bearing containing the crank rotor and slotted tor the crank pin.

7. In headlight dipping mechanism, a bearing bracket, an outer casing having a hub clamped and pinned to said bracket and encircling a tubular bearing, a lamp mounting rotating on said tubular bearing, an inner casing clamped to said lamp mounting, a shell enclosing said outer and inner casings and rigidly secured to the former, and having a limiting slot, a return spring connecting said outer and inner casings, a pin from said inner casing extending through said limiting slot, a bolt operating spindle in said tubular bearing having a crank pin extending Vtherethrough and through said lamp mounting, a bolt carrier fixedly inounted'on said spindle and operated by said crank pin and having spring bolts secured thereto through cam slots and sliding through said inner easing into said outer casing and a lever operatively connected with said crank pin.

8. in headlight dipping mechanism, bearing brackets adapted to be secured to the frame of the vehicle, one of said brackets having a ball joint member, tubular mem- 1e rotation preceding the shooting of bers forming a lamp mounting and a bearing member, a ball joint member projecting from one end of the latter, turn ball joint casings engaging said balls and fixedly secured, a locking mechanism at the other end of said'bearing member and clamped to the other bracket and having a rotating nism.

of May, 1925.

GEORGE PIERCE.

Signed at Montreal, Canada, this 14th day 

